Snowstorm hits Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, knocks out power

Thousands of people in Quebec and eastern Ontario were without power Wednesday morning after the first snowfall of the season, prompting the closure of some schools.

A storm system that crept up the east coast of the U.S. and blew across eastern Ontario and western Quebec dumped between 10 and 15 centimetres of wet snow under strong wind gusts.

Hydro-Quebec says about 60,000 customers in the Laurentians and the Outaouais will have to wait until later Wednesday morning before power is restored.

In Eastern Ontario, about 10,000 households lost power between Highway 416 and the Quebec border, and Hydro One predicted that some would remain without power until noon.
Upper Canada School Board closes schools

The power outages prompted the closure of some schools in eastern Ontario's Upper Canada School Board:

* Russell Elementary.
* Russell High School.
* Cambridge Public School.
* Glen Tay School.
* S.J. Macleod Public School.
* North Stormont Public School.

School buses were cancelled for two schools in the Catholic board system, Mother Teresa Catholic School and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School, but the schools remained open.

Just before 7:30 a.m., the Ontario Provincial Police reported 23 collisions across eastern Ontario. Ottawa's traffic control said many of the city's roads were clear of snow, but seven intersections remained without traffic lights.
A winter storm watch was in effect Tuesday from Brockville and the eastern edge of Algonquin Park to the boundary with Quebec.

The snow system passed over Montreal, where a few centimetres accumulated but will melt as the forecast calls for warmer weather later in the week in the greater island region. But Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec can expect more snow.
Wind gusts up to 60 kilometres per hour created hazardous driving conditions.

In eastern Quebec, heavy rain fell Tuesday night, leaving up to 140 millimetres in the region between Bonaventure and Port Daniel.
A handful of homes were evacuated as a precaution, public security officials said.

_{Bron:CBCNews.ca}

| Gewijzigd: 29 oktober 2008, 13:46 uur, door Kikimero